Shades of Blue
by AnimeMew
Summary: Boomer was hurt. Boomer had no where else to go. Boomer had given up. But did his own private angel give up on him?


A/N: Yes! I am back! But this time with a PPG one-shot! That's right, one-shot. I might be persuaded to add an epilogue if you BEGGED me. Ha ha.

They are 13 years old here and all have normal human stuff. Like fingers.

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN PPGS!

**Shades of Blue**

He stood above them all now. He was high up, the wind rustling up his messy hair. Cold, lifeless eyes of deep blue stared out to the city. It was a relatively clear night today, relatively peaceful and harmless enough. He almost grinned at the thought, peaceful? _Yeah right._

The wind blew again, and he ran a smooth hand through the unruly hair. He softened as he gazed around the city. He wouldn't exactly be missed; after all, he and his brothers WERE the main cause of terror in the usually peaceful town.

He frowned deeply, his brothers. He stared at his hands and they were shaking. He knew it wasn't due to him being out on top of this building for so long either. When he thought about it, this would be the best way. Apparently, his body didn't agree. He didn't give a damn what his body wanted though, nothing like that would matter anymore in a few short moments.

He once again let his mind wander, back to unpleasant memories. Nothing had changed, not in the 8 years of his existence. Of course, he was older than 8, as he started out at roughly the age of 5.

_Same as **THEM**_, He thought.

He cringed as he thought of them, his…_family_.

He clenched his fists tightly together and grit his teeth in pain.

_They are no family of mine…._

Still, his thoughts always went back to them. He stared over the city again, at the buildings, the cars, the receding skyline, and then the ledge. He had the ghost of a grin on his face, impossible though due to the fact that he hadn't smiled in 5 years. He rarely ever talked. Shaking his head warily he stared over the ledge with serene patience. He only had to wait till dark now.

Once again, thoughts of his brothers came back. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to get the horrible images out of his head. A solitary tear slid slickly down his cheek, leaving a stain of salty water. He promised that it would be the last he'd shed over them.

His brothers were never a support to him. He thought that would have changed in 8 years, they weren't 5 anymore, now as 13 year olds things had only gotten worse. He shuddered as he thought of his sadistic emerald-eyed brother. He would be so furious with him that he would probably kill him. Though it wouldn't be possible once he figured it out. His mind was wandering again, as it often did. The green one was always the worst one physically. He could still remember the very first time that his brother had ever harmed him on purpose.

**_Flashback_**

_A much younger version of the boy stood next to another, sulking figure. His blond hair was rustling against the wind slightly, blue eyes glimmering with a smile. The other figure, sulking, had black hair, as black as the night. His eyes were a deep emerald green and they were piercing the happy boy with distaste._

_"What are you so happy about, Brains-Went –Boom?" He grinned slightly at his 'younger' brother._

_The other one smiled at his brother slightly._

_"It's a great day Twitch! What should we do, you know, since Cap Man is out?" They all had private nicknames for each other, so it didn't really matter anymore whether the other took offense._

_'Twitch' however, seemed to frown at the name._

_"You know I hate it when you remind me of that, when we were brought back before." He crossed his arms in defiance. "I honestly don't know….we could steal something?"_

_The blond shook his head slightly. They were 6 now, and he was beginning to see that crime wasn't paying, and he meant the profitable way._

_"We shouldn't do that anymore Butch…."_

_Butch glared at him slightly, peeved._

_"Boomer, we're the ROWDYRUFF BOYS." He paused for a second, trying to think. "It's what we DO."_

_Boomer sighed and muttered something about there always being a choice. When he looked at his brother again, he was met with a hard look of disgust._

_"What, what'd I do now?"_

_Butch stared at him hard, sitting on the ledge of a small wall._

_"Exactly, you haven't DONE anything."_

_Boomer stared at him in disbelief._

_"Come on Butch, be serious, you know I'm your brother and a RowdyRuff. I'll steal right now if I have to."_

_Butch studied him silently, all traces of humor gone._

_"Fine, go. Right now. Steal me a DVD player from a nearby store." His gaze was hard, criticizing. "I'll be waiting at the Hideout." With that, he turned and abruptly flew away, top speed._

_Boomer gazed after him, shocked. His first thought though was: **How much money do I have on me.**_

_When Boomer got back to the Hideout, Butch was waiting for him. Boomer grinned at gave him the DVD player. Butch stared at him intently, and then abruptly grabbed him. He pushed Boomer to his chest in a bear hug like hold. Swiftly, he had retrieved Boomer's wallet. He opened it silently, and Boomer knew he had been caught._

_Enraged, Butch threw the wallet and his brother to the other side of the room._

_"You think I'm stupid or something?" His voice was slightly deranged, and impossibly mad._

_"I-I'm sorry Butch…" Boomer whimpered slightly, the launch into the wall had been painful._

_"You're no RowdyRuff, a wimp to the end….you are no brother of mine."_

_And then the screaming began._

**_End flashback_**

Boomer shuddered. The beatings had started then and had gotten worse after that. So much worse…..he shook his head, the sun was still going down and he still had more time. He didn't want to think of his other brother. In a way, he preferred his other brother's beatings then what 'Cap Man' did to him.

Whereas the beatings started when he was 6 or so, his other brother hadn't done anything until he was around 8, precisely the time he stopped smiling. Despite trying to hold it back, pain flashed in his deep blue eyes. His palms began to bleed slightly due to the superhuman pressure being forced into them, he didn't pay it any mind. His eyes were clouded in remembrance now.

**_Flashback_**

_An 8-year-old Boomer walked 'home' dejected. He had new bruises to hide now. He sighed, smiling. At least he was still accepted by one brother. He had had more fights with those Powerpuffs lately, he was more bitter than usual. He still couldn't let go of the humiliation of their defeats, but he was more upset that their bonds seemed so close and caring. Something he didn't have._

_He opened the door to the Hideout slightly, the smell of unkempt kids all over it. He sighed a deep, strangled sigh, he had started stealing again to prove himself to Butch. It didn't seem to be working though, since Butch still would maliciously beat him. It seemed he would never earn his respect back, but he just had to try, at the very least, have them be a family again. He warily looked inside for Butch, but he was surprised to only see he red clad brother, adorning the usual cap._

_"Hey Brick!" Boomer called to him with such joy, knowing that he was not only spared a beating, but also in the presence of his other brother._

_Brick didn't say anything to Boomer, just stared at him with a long hard look. Boomer felt uneasy immediately._

_"Uh…I….er…You wanna do something?" Boomer didn't understand what was wrong with his brother, but he knew not to press the issue._

_Brick finally stopped staring at him, looking away in silent fury._

_"…No, never again…"_

_Boomer looked at him, shocked. His face scrunched up slightly in his confusion. He stared at his brother again, he knew the look, the stance. It was exactly how Butch had looked before…_

_Boomer shook his head, shaking away the unpleasant thoughts. He beamed again at his brother, who seemed to flinch at the action._

_"Oh, ok then."_

_Brick sighed and closed his eyes, as if in deep thought. When they opened again, his red eyes bled with unspoken rage._

_"Boomer..."_

_Boomer flinched back at the look, immediately shielding his face and tensing up. _

**_Not another brother…_**

_"Y-yes B-b-b-brick?"_

_Brick didn't move an inch. He glared at his brother in disappointment._

_"You are a disgrace. As leader, I am revoking your membership and-" He glared at Boomer intensely. "-you will never come crying to me with your stupid problems EVER again. Butch can do whatever the hell he wants to a worthless shit-bag like you." He crossed his arms, determined and in complete authority._

_Boomer tensed, he was about to cry._

_"No….no Brick…I'll do ANYTHING!...just…just…" His voice was quivering. "Please…."_

_Brick scowled at him and moved a few inches. Boomer looked on horrified as Butch stepped out of his hiding place._

_"Hello whelp…"_

_Boomer stared in pure fear, and the screaming was doubled this time._

**_End flashback_**

Boomer was shaking now, remembering had started to take its toll. He wasn't an official Rowdyruff anymore. But he wanted to prove himself to his brothers, so he stole more often and joined them on missions. He was completely ignored. When he got home, the beatings were 10 times worse after a mission. And Brick, he was the worst of it. Brick would insult him so much he felt like nothing, his heart had begun to rip. His emotions would overflow and he'd have to fly off, crying.

_Flying_

He loved flying more than anything, it made him feel so free. So free that he could almost smile. It was dark now, just a little while before the moon was perfectly overhead. This was the perfect was to do things, perfect for him at least. He stared at his arms, completely unharmed. He wouldn't have believed it himself if he hadn't experienced the pain yesterday that a titanium razor had sliced through them. He sighed slightly, everything still hurt. He remembered what had happened just last night.

**_Flashback_**

_Boomer walked into the Hideout, dull and emotionless. He waited for his beating and Butch happily obliged. He could feel every punch, every crunch, but he willed his face to give no clue to his pain. He knew Butch would stop earlier if he didn't react to it._

_Butch huffed and stopped attacking. Obviously displeased that he couldn't get under Boomer's skin anymore._

_Boomer stayed silent, never saying anything. Immense sorrow was painted on his face. He stood up and walked strait to his room. He would have made it if Brick hadn't stood in his way._

_"Where are you going, dumbass."_

_Boomer stared at him silently, then opened his mouth to speak. He was abruptly cut off by Brick's fist._

_Boomer fell to the ground and stared at his brother, confused. Brick, despite all the insults, had never hit him._

_Brick stared at him, a menacing glint in his blood red eyes._

_"That room? Get out. You don't belong here. You NEVER belonged here. Never EVER come back." _

_Boomer stared at his brother, this had to be a joke. He stared at his brother, searching his face. He didn't get a chance to look harder though, because Butch had already thrown him out._

_"AND NEVER COME BACK!"_

**_End flashback_**

Boomer curled his arms around his waist. It felt like, without his family he was nothing. Even thought they did unthinkable things to him, he still loved them.

He sighed with the realization, but it would not deter him from what he was about to do. The moon was high now, and nobody was in sight. He glanced all around him, just to make sure. If his brothers wanted him to never come back, then fine.

He thought of many ways to do this, many times before. But, having a Ruff body meant that the options were limited. He could steal antidote X, but then his options only got larger.

But…

He wanted to fly.

He wanted to soar, one last time. The thing that brought him joy should end it.

He stared off the edge, he was on top the largest building in the entire city. He couldn't even see the bottom. He almost smiled again, but he wanted to save that for when he was flying.

The pain he was feeling now was unbearable, the feeling of being worthless. Of being hated by the only two people he really loved. Boomer stared over the edge again. He wouldn't have to deal with the pain again, never again.

He walked over to the very edge of the building. He wanted to fly, feel the wind in his hair one last time before he slatted to the cold concrete. He put one foot in front of the other, almost there now. He closed his eyes, the edge was right there and he only needed one more step….

"Boomer…?"

He stopped, the sound of his name startled him. How could someone be up here? He hadn't detected anyone…..He decided that the owner of the voice must be an angel. But what angel would ever want him.

"Boomer….is that you?"

He decided to turn and look. Opening his eyes, he turned around to look at the one who had spoken his name. He took in a sharp breath. Standing right there, was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. A blue clad angel. She was illuminated by the bright glowing moon, her voice barely a whisper. She had on a light blue top with long midnight blue gloves. Her skirt was a bright baby blue and her boots mid sized. Two ponytails restricted her long flowing blond hair and he thought briefly that her hair shouldn't be restricted that way. Her icy blue eyes stared at him intently, and almost disbelieving. It took him a minute to place a name on this perfect angel. And when he did, he was shocked at himself.

"Bubbles?"

The angel smiled at him, a sparkling smile that could light a dark forest for miles. He felt a little heat come up to his cheeks.

"Yes, it's me. Hi…" She stared at him slowly, looking attentively where he was going. She took a slow, graceful step towards him. "Mind if we talk?"

Boomer was almost speechless. She looked so beautiful What happened to the whiny crybaby he used to fight. Before he could stop the words they came rushing out.

"No, we can talk if you want." He regretted them almost instantly. He was running out of time to do this.

Bubbles smiled a relieved smile. And walked closer, grabbing his dark blue hoodie and pulling him away from the ledge. Boomer recovered quickly from his stupor and remembered who exactly this was. He made his face appear cold and uncaring, impatience flashed in his impossibly blue eyes.

Bubbles noticed this and released his hoodie. She smiled apologetically and took a slight step back. Boomer couldn't help feel bad that he was the cause of that. But it didn't matter, this angel was an enemy in both respects. He was demon from the start afterall.

"Well, how are you Boomer?"

Her angelic voice rang in his ears again. She wanted to know how HE was? It didn't seem possible. He almost didn't answer, thinking he had heard wrong.

"Um…ok I guess…."

Bubbles stared at him closely and he felt a little insecure at her gaze. Why was she staring so hard? Bubbles sighed and gave him a small smile.

"No…you aren't are you?" She walked up to him again. "Tell me all about it Boomer, I'll listen to you. You don't have to do what you were about to do."

He sucked in a sharp breath. She knew, this perfect angel knew what he wanted to do. He tainted this girl with his impure action and she STILL wanted to hear about him.

"No, it's nothing to worry about Bubbles. I just wanted some fresh air."

Bubbles glared at him with ferocity. He was almost glad for this negative attention, now his heart could slow down from the mad beating a few seconds before.

"Don't joke with me Boomer. I can tell you weren't just out for a 'leisurely stroll' on top of the tallest building in Townsville." She shook her head. "I want to know what pushed you like this……why?"

Boomer shuddered. She knew, she knew, she knew!

"My brothers…" His voice was almost inaudible, and Bubbles almost missed it. Luckily she had super hearing.

"What did they do….wait, I don't want to know." She smiled at his serenely. "I know it must be painful to remember. Just know that you don't have to do this…"

Boomer glared at her then. Angel or not, she wasn't going to deter him from what he came to do.

"I won't do this anymore. I won't live with this pain." His hands trembled then. His voice was cracking. He refused to show his tears to anyone. But why did she seem so inviting. He barely had enough time to finish his thoughts when he felt the softest touch around his waist.

Bubbles had closed the distance between then, embracing Boomer in a soft hug. She rubbed his back softly, and he broke down. He hugged her tightly as small sobs erupted from his chest. The tears fell then, crystal and perfect. She held up a hand to his face and wiped them.

"There there, its ok Boomer…its going to be ok…you don't need to jump. I'm here for you."

Boomer whispered slightly into her hair, he could smell her sweet scent coming off her.

"Why?...Why would you care what happens to me?"

She smiled at him again and pulled him more away from the ledge.

"When I saw you there, I knew it was my duty to stop this. You have so much more left in life. Why throw it away like that?" Bubbles sighed softly. "And I don't know the situation with your brothers, but based on the fights we had…" She paused again, looking into his eyes. "They tried to keep you out of it as much as possible."

Boomer scrunched up his face slightly, listening to Bubbles.

"And…it seemed like they were trying to protect you…"

Boomer looked on to her, shocked. He thought of all the bad moments with his brothers. And he remembered. Why he had stayed with them so long. Every insult, every beating, there had been immeasurable pain in their eyes.

They…were trying to drive him away for his own good.

"Bubbles…" He could only say her name, but then he sobbed again. Realizing he was about to waste their efforts. It pained him.

"Shh, Boomer its ok now."

Boomer gazed at her, and hugged her tighter. His heart was swelling for some reason.

"Bubbles…will you…will you…?"

He struggled with the words.

"Thank you… and do you think we could be friends now?"

Bubbles smiled at him widely.

"I would love that Boomer." She leaned up and kissed his forehead, blushing slightly.

Boomer was blushing too. He was glad that Bubbles, his blue angel had come just in time.

"Boomer?"

He gazed at her again, once more mystified by her brilliant beauty.

"Yes?"

Bubbles tugged his hoodie, grinning.

"Fly with me?"

And he did, in a moment they were up in the air flying together. He actually smiled. Then he heard an intake of breath.

"Huh?"

"Boomer…your smile is so beautiful."

Boomer smiled again, embarrassed a little. They were flying to who knows where, his mind had begun to wander as it always did when he flew. Then a thought struck him.

"Bubbles?"

Bubbles looked at him, smiling once more.

"Yes?"

Boomer stared at her silently, then braved the question.

"Why were you on the roof this late at night too?"

He stared at her and she had a sad smile on her face. He stayed focused on her and then turned his head back.

He had his answer.


End file.
